San Francisco, 21 April

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Modi government’s primary focus is to transform India into a developed nation by 2047, with a strong focus on sunrise sectors to drive this objective.

During her interaction with the Indian diaspora during her official visit, she said that India had followed fiscally prudent policies even during the Covid-19 pandemic and had kept a check on fiscal profligacy despite the challenging circumstances.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, our fiscal deficit went up. But in 2021, we came up with a clear signal as to how we wanted to manage our fiscal deficit. We set year-on-year targets and committed to bringing the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by 2026. And that's what we have been following each year without fail," the finance ministry quoted her as saying in a series of posts on X.

She further said that the government at the Centre is working with the objective to make India a developed nation by 2047.

"Our government's primary focus is #ViksitBharat by 2047 & Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has emphasised that it can be achieved by looking after the four main 'castes' - Women, Poor, Youth & Farmers," she said.

India's focus is also on the 'Sunrise Sectors' which are important to build our capacities and areas such as Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) where India has emerged as a global leader, she said.

The Prime Minister has been relentlessly pursuing good governance, for opening every opportunity for India, be it new technology, skilling, entrepreneurship, commitments for renewable energy and fulfilling them well within time, she said.

"When we say that India is the fastest-growing economy and when @IMFNews or @WorldBank recognise that India can be the engine driving global trade, what they are recognising is the immense potential that exists in India," she said.

The finance minister reached San Francisco on Sunday on an 11-day trip to the US and Peru.

During her visit to Washington, USA, 22-25 from April, Sitharaman will participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor (FMCBG) Meetings, Development Committee Plenary, IMFC Plenary, and Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting.